With Blu-ray Disc now the clear
victor in the high-definition format war, those cautious about buying
hardware can spend with ease. Those with home theater PCs or laptops will be
pleased to learn that Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions (PLDS) will be
soon releasing its first USB external BD-ROM drive in Q2 2008.

“Due to recent market developments we can expect an
increasing volume of movies to be released in high definition on Blu-ray Discs,”
said Jelmer Veldman, European Marketing Manager at PLDS. “The market adoption
of Blu-ray as the optical disc standard for High Definition content results in
a growing demand for Blu-ray playback solutions. The portable external Lite-On
BD-ROM drive allows users to playback their Blu-ray discs on any PC via a USB
2.0 cable.”

Those who prefer internal drives can find the Lite-On Blu-ray
Disc drives for around $150.

Alternatively, HTPC addicts may consider the Xbox 360 HD DVD
drive, now
on clearance for $50. While HD DVD may have limited future potential, the
Xbox 360 add-on, which works with natively with Windows Vista, is an affordable
option to view today’s high-definition content.

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The Xbox 360 HD DVD drive may mount discs just fine in Vista, but Vista still has no built-in HD DVD playback software. You need something like PowerDVD Ultra to play the content.

Although, I *DID* just pick up one of the XB360 HD DVD drives for $50. I figure for $50, I will get a 'backup' way of playing my movies when my HD DVD drive dies, plus I get six free movies. (Three of which I may have been willing to pay for, which makes it worth $50.) And, once somebody makes a one-step method for ripping HD DVD movies, I'll be set. (I've tried the ten-step method, and it does work, but is time consuming.)

I agree. A LEGAL copy of PowerDVD Ultra comes in at $100, and I haven't had much success with WinDVD or Nero Showtime with hi def movies of either format.

PLUS, even though Windows XP and Vista recognize the drive, you can't update the firmware and HDCP through Windows Update. I had to get my brother to flash the drive with the October Update to get anything newer beyond King Kong to work.

Now there's a new problem cropping up with PowerDVD, so far Across the Universe (Blu) is the only problem movie I have, but there's no selectable controls or direct access to anything beyond the menu.

So stick with Blu 2.0 standalone players unless you REALLY like tinkering with HTPCs